Thread: Complete Novice

Well, since everybody else is throwing pennies around on this thread I suppose I will too . DOVO- good f"ing razor but it's not shave ready out of the box. One of the honemeisters here can do it and it's worth the money.
Any soap'll do. The soaps that are intended for shaving are great, I'm sure, but I've gotten good results from Ivory bar soap. Keep in mind, however, that I go with the " Collapse of society- shave with ditchwater." approach much of the time . The linen strop may be optional but I prefer using it. The main thing is to keep your strop taut and use only enough pressure to keep the razor flat on the strop. Pasted strop- good idea. Don't expect perfection right away as there's a learning curve involved here; we all have our FNG stories and you'll have yours soon so just stick with it. And, oh yes, by the way,welcome to the forum as you've lucked out and found where all the right information is to be found.

Kurt

I got my honing block today but unfortunately they have sent me the wrong one.

They sent me a 6000 grit Japanese water stone. Would this be okay or should I send it back and wait for the Norton 4000/8000?

The Japenese one is a bit cheaper anyway so they owe me some £ if I keep it.

But it's not nearly as fine as the Norton 8k surface. It will not cut as fast as the Norton 4k. You better ship it back and wait for the good stuff.

Yeah that's what I thought but I just wanted to get started.

Oh well I suppose since I've been using a conventional razor for nearly 20 years another couple of days wont hurt.

Just pick up a $5 Gillette Tech at an antique store or order a $7.50 Feather travel razor (they stole the design from Tech) from Pauldog at SMF, get some Derby or Feather blades and that will make a great introduction to wet shaving while you're waiting for the Norton.

Just pick up a $5 Gillette Tech at an antique store or order a $7.50 Feather travel razor (they stole the design from Tech) from Pauldog at SMF, get some Derby or Feather blades and that will make a great introduction to wet shaving while you're waiting for the Norton.

Not so easy when you live in Scotland!

That's a fairly common razor anywhere in the world, so it's commanding very low prices on the antique markets and is available just about everywhere men shave. It's just a suggestion.. You can also wait for the Norton, it won't take too long in any case.

Originally Posted by BSM

I got my honing block today but unfortunately they have sent me the wrong one.

They sent me a 6000 grit Japanese water stone. Would this be okay or should I send it back and wait for the Norton 4000/8000?

The Japenese one is a bit cheaper anyway so they owe me some £ if I keep it.

I agree with Firestart on this return it for the Norton.

Here is a link to a brief, headshaving video on Youtube. The video demonstrates two basic lessons of straight razor shaving. Unlike tennis or golf, there is NO follow through in a shaving stroke, and ALWAYS stretch the skin.